Celtics vs Knicks Game 1 Recap

The New York Knicks shocked the Boston Celtics in overtime to steal Game 1 on the road by a score of 108-105.

New York trailed by as much as 20 points in the 3rd quarter. It seemed like Boston would run away with a victory just as they have all season, but the resilient Knicks had other plans.

Brunson and Anunoby lead the way

Behind Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby, the Knicks clawed their way back into the game.

Brunson had 29 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. He struggled in the first half after shooting 3-for-9 from the field, but bounced back in the second half with 6-for-10 shooting.

Anunoby also poured in 29 points. He shot 6-for-11 from beyond the arc.

New York took a 6-point lead with 3:28 left in the 4th, but Boston went on a run of their own to force overtime.

The Knicks controlled overtime with a couple of big plays from Anunoby and Mikal Bridges. Anunoby had a huge and-one dunk to give New York the lead. Bridges came up with the clutch steal on Jaylen Brown to secure the win.

New York’s defense came up huge, as they grabbed 10 steals as a team and limited Boston to 35.1% shooting from the field.

Though Bridges struggled from the field on 3-for-13 shooting, he came up big on the defensive side. He grabbed 3 steals and blocked 2 shots. Bridges’ defense on Brown ultimately won the game for New York.

Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart both notched double-doubles. Towns had 14 points and 13 rebounds. Hart contributed 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Boston makes history

For Boston, it seemed like a typical runaway game. They have had New York’s number all season long and it looked like this game would be no different.

The Celtics took control in the 2nd quarter as they outscored the Knicks 35-20 in the frame. They simply were not ready for any type of resistance from New York in the second half.

Boston made history as they missed 45 3-pointers, the most ever in a playoff game. The Celtics were 15-for-60 overall from 3. They seemed determined to keep launching it from beyond the arc despite their cold streak.

It was a horrid shooting night for Boston, especially for its stars. The defensive duo of Bridges and Anunoby disrupted Jayson Tatum and Brown all night.

Tatum scored 23 points and 16 rebounds, but shot just 30.4% from the field on 7-for-23 shooting. Brown also had 23, but shot 35% on 7-for-20 shooting

Derrick White contributed 19 points and 11 rebounds. Like his star teammates, White struggled from the field. He was 6-for-18 from the field and shot 5-for-16 from the 3-point line.

The former Knick Kristaps Porzingis seemed to help his old team as he went scoreless on 4 shot attempts.

Boston’s most efficient player was the returning Jrue Holiday. Holiday had 16 points on 7-for-14 shooting and 6 rebounds. This was his first game back since Game 2 against the Orlando Magic.

With this loss, Boston has lost home court advantage.

The Celtics will look to bounce back against the Knicks in Game 2 on Wednesday.

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